The Collaborative Dictionary
Whippersnapper
\Whip"per*snap`per\, n. A diminutive, insignificant, or
presumptuous person. [Colloq.] "Little whippersnappers like you."
--T. Hughes. [1913 Webster]
Word Net
whippersnapper n : someone who is unimportant but
cheeky and presumptuous [syn:
jackanapes,
lightweight]
Moby Thesaurus
JD, a
nobody, a nothing,
boldface,
brat,
brazenface,
chutzpanik,
cipher, common man,
dummy,
elf, enfant terrible,
figurehead,
gamin, holy terror,
hussy,
imp,
insignificancy,
jackstraw, juvenile
delinquent,
lightweight, little fellow,
little guy, little monkey,
malapert, man of straw,
mediocrity,
minx,
nebbish,
nobody, nobody one knows,
nonentity,
nothing,
nullity,
obscurity, pip-squeak,
puck,
punk, punk kid,
pup,
puppy,
runt,
saucebox,
scrub,
shrimp, small fry, small potato,
small potatoes, smart aleck, smart-ass,
smarty, smarty-pants, spoiled
brat,
squirt,
squit,
swaggerer,
upstart,
urchin,
whiffet, wise guy, wise-ass,
zero,
zilch
English
Pronunciation
- /ˈʍɪpəˌsnæpə/ (RP)
- /ˈwɪpərˌsnæpər/ (US)
Noun
- a young and cheeky or presumptuous person
- 2004:
Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- Eisenhower
thought that the President-elect, his junior by over 25 years, was
merely a "young whippersnapper."